If outdoor spaces are unappealing they go unused. So Dan Shipley, FAIA, made sure his renovations to this 1960s ranch house shaped its previously uninteresting, alley-facing backyard into a favorite hangout.

Keep it simple. This was Richard P. Williams' mantra as he renovated his family's 1943 kit house. The architect knew even before he started sketching that he would upgrade the windows and add a copper roof.

This upscale condo building in Adams Morgan, a vibrant multicultural neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., got the nod from our judges, who admired its human element, the thoughtful use of brick, and the “Florentine palazzo concept.”

The orderly floor plan at this bold modern residence captured the judges’ attention. So did its restrained materials palette and spotless execution. “It doesn’t have a flaw,” marveled one judge, speaking of the entire project.